From Our Blog

Hi, I'm Liz, welcome to Eight Acres. I live on a small farm in Kumbia, Australia, with my husband, Pete, and our dogs Taz and Gus. This website started off as a blog for sharing all the things we make and grow on our small farm. We keep a small herd of beef cattle and a few dairy cows. We also have lots of chickens, bees and a vege garden.

Now as well as sharing what I'm learning, I can share what we make through our virtual farmgate (online shop), where I sell natural handmade tallow soap and raw chemical-free honey and beeswax.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why use tallow soap?

Tallow is good for your skin, it makes a lovely hard bar of soap and its a byproduct from butchering beef, so its a local and sustainable ingredient for soapmaking. I use beef tallow instead of palm oil, so all my soaps are palm oil free, but they are not vegan. If you want to read more, I wrote a blog post about the benefits of tallow soap here.

What do you mean by natural ingredients?

I don't use any artificial fragrance oils or colours in my soaps. The soaps are lightly scented with high quality essential oils, and any colours come from edible (or harmless) ingredients such as herbs, charcoal, clay, beer and honey. All the ingredients are listed with the individual products.

Where is Kumbia?

Kumbia is a very small town located near the slightly larger town of Kingaroy, which is north west of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia (I wrote more about it here). You can find the map on my contact page.

Why is your site called Eight Acres?

When I first started a blog in 2009, we lived on a property that was about eight acres in size. I was always explaining our activities by saying "we live on eight acres", so I used that as the name of my blog. Since then we have moved to 250 A in Kumbia, but the name has stuck. You can read all my blog posts over here.

Are you on social media?

Can I pick up my order?

Sure, just email me after you place you order to arrange either coming to our farm or meeting somewhere around the South Burnett. Use the discount code "PICKUP" to avoid postage charges (if you have already checked out I will refund postage).

Why do you only ship to Australia?

I think its really important to support local businesses, and I'm sure you can find a local soapmaker to buy from, there are so many wonderful soapmakers all over the world.

What packaging do you use?

My products are wrapped in brown paper bags and newspaper to protect them during transport. They are posted in plastic Australia Post satchels, but I can post in paper on request.

How much is postage?

I don't like getting surprises when it comes to postage charges! Postage is calculated by weight - 500g is $8, 1kg $10 and up to 3kg is $14. Each soap is about 120g.

Do you make wholesale soaps?

Yes! We sell wholesale soaps in lots of 10 bars or more. I love working closely with other business to create unique and sustainable products, if you would like to add some of our tallow soaps to your product range then I would love to hear from you, just send me an email and we can discuss your needs.

Is your beeswax food grade?

Yes and no... there is no official definition for "food grade" beeswax, so its not a claim that I can make. I clean the beeswax as much as possible without using any chemicals, and it is suitable for use to make beeswax wraps, candles and salves (or other skincare).

Is your soap suitable for sensitive skin?

Tallow soap can be very gentle and a good option for sensitive skin, but all skin is different and I recommend that you try the soap on a small patch of skin before using it all over, just in case you have a reaction.

What about sensitive body parts?

In particular it is not recommended to use soap of any kind on very sensitive parts of the body (sorry if that is too much information, but I have had this question so I feel like I better answer it! Please read more about cleaning your vagina and cleaning your penis - hint: don't use soap!)

Is your soap suitable for people with allergies?

The ingredients of each soap are listed on the product pages. I make soap with ingredients including goat's milk, beeswax, honey, oats and various oils. I cannot guarantee contamination from one soap to another, so if you have severe allergies to any of my ingredients they are probably not suitable soaps for you.

What are you policies for refunds and returns?

Policies

Returns and Exchange Policy:

If goods are faulty, we'll happily refund your order after you've helped us improve our experience by explaining why.

If you believe the product is not what we explained it to be, we may replace the item or refund your money at our discretion; and we may ask you to mail the item back to our postal address in its original undamaged condition at your cost.

Please contact us with information and photos of the product to discuss the best way to resolve the issue. See the FAQ page for further information as it constitutes part of the site policies.

Payment Policy:

Items will be shipped after payment is received.

Cancellation Policy:

As long as you cancel your order by email to eight.acres.liz {at} gmail.com before we dispatch it and incur charges with Australia Post we'll happily cancel your order for a full refund.

Dispatch will occur within 5 working days, so please be quick if you change your mind, and please let us know why!

Shipping Policy:

Please take care to enter the correct order and delivery details and to check them at order confirmation. We'll have to charge you to re-send an order with corrected goods or to a corrected address once Australia Post have charged us for the original delivery.

We will dispatch your delivery within 5 working days, or earlier where possible. Australia Post delivery times vary depending on where you live, so we can't quote a precise day of delivery, but it will usually be within 10 days after dispatch.

If your order is damaged in transit, we'll ship a replacement as soon as possible once the damage is verified. Please contact us at eight.acres.liz {at} gmail.com to arrange a replacement. If you require upgraded shipping to cover any losses in transit, please contact us after you complete your order and extra shipping will be charged separately.

It is the responsibility of the customer to monitor and lodge inquiries with Australia Post using the tracking number provided with the order confirmation if there are any issues with delivery.

Without limiting the operation of any other Terms and Conditions herein, we will not accept liability for any loss or damage arising from items lost, stolen or damaged after delivery has taken place.

Shipping is by Australia Post in prepaid satchels of 500g, 1kg, 3kg or 5kg.